Back on the Bloc!

It promises to be a happy homecoming of sorts when Bloc Party visit Reading’s Hexagon in a fortnight.

Though not a Reading band as such, Bloc Party were formed in the town as far back as 1999 when vocalist Kele Okereke and guitarist Russell Lissack met at the Festival and decided they should form the band.

The pair had met before in Essex, where Kele went to school and Russell lived, but it was that chance meeting in Reading that cemented the band’s conception.

Gordon Moakes was soon installed as bass player, but it took three more years and seven unsuccessful stickmen before drummer Matt Tong completed the line-up.

Early gigs at the Rising Sun Arts Centre continued the Reading connection and by the time the band played The Fez Club in early 2005, the Bloc Party explosion was imminent.

Debut album Silent Alarm hit the streets at around the same time and the Fez gig will live long in the memory of those Reading fans lucky enough to catch the band in such intimate surroundings at a pivotal stage in their development.

They return to the town for a Hexagon date on monday February 5 with second album A Weekend In The City all shiny and new.

Bloc Party have reached that awkward ‘second album stage’ but look certain to rise to the age-old challenge.

Expect a party – and look forward to many happy returns.

Canadian rockers Metric provide the support for Bloc Party’s Hexagon gig.